A Simple Operation
by MohShuvuu
Summary: (Rated T because, well, there's dissection involved.) Night was always the hardest time for Sasori. He used to welcome the night for it gave him much more time to focus on his work, but now that he was in the Akatsuki he had to deal with a sleeping partner. This wouldn't be the first time that Sasori used nighttime as an excuse to dissect his partner.
1. Chapter 1

(Hey, just a short little heads up before this starts. This is actually a roleplay between a friend and I's that I've transferred over and it's ongoing as long as we keep it up. The parts in Sasori's POV are written by me while Deidara is by the lovely Deiendara on tumblr.)

Night was always the hardest time for Sasori. He used to welcome the night because it allowed him a quiet time to work on his puppets, but that was when he was alone. Now that he was in the Akatsuki he could be assured that there would always be a partner by his side to interrupt his quiet. Even the shallow breathing of sleep was enough of a reminder.

Night was also the perfect opportunity for him to examine or even turn his partners into puppets. They were immobile and couldn't fight back. It wasn't that he couldn't defeat his partners, but a battle meant potential bodily injury and it was always a nuisance to fix those injuries. There was also less of a chance for him to be interrupted and it wasn't as if the dark was a bother to him. Puppets didn't need light to see.

Deidara was no exception. Sasori had already turned two of his partners into puppets and Deidara's abilities were far more interesting than his former partner's. The only problem that Sasori had been running into were those mouths of Deidara's. It would be difficult to transfer their mobility into a puppet, and impossible until he fully understood how those mouths worked. He supposed that he could have paralyzed Deidara and examined his body right before the transformation. The result wouldn't be as beautiful if Sasori didn't have the time to make a proper design.

Which was why Sasori had Deidara carefully laid out before him tonight. A few minor modifications had been made to the puppeteer's preferred paralytic. It was much weaker now, non lethal, and now included a numbing agent to block out pain. He couldn't care less if his partner was in pain, but those mouths were so aggravating. If they felt pain, they would thrash about and get in the way of Sasori's operation.

The mouths on Deidara's hands were what Sasori was most curious with but they were also the most delicate. There was so little flesh around them that they would be difficult to work with. However, the large mouth on Deidara's chest offered the perfect opportunity for Sasori to examine their workings without risk of damage. His eyes flickered up to meet the blond's sleeping face once before he injected the numbing agent near the lip of the large mouth. The mouth twitched a few times before settling down and Sasori knew it was time. He tugged on a few strings and Hiruko picked up the scalpel and pressed it into Deidara's skin.


	2. Chapter 2

And Deidara's eyes snapped open. In all honestly, he had awoken the moment the needle had touched his skin; not only had he been trained, as all ninja were, to wake up and become alert at the slightest provocation, but his chest-mouth was also one of the most sensitive areas on his body. The first observation he catalogued was that his body was unresponsive, save the few movements he managed with his eyes. There was no chance he'd get a limb moving and his mouths were useless. His next task, then, was to register his surroundings. Words like _outside_ and _forest_ immediately came up. Damn, so that was why he vaguely felt the discomfort of lying on hard ground. The last thing he noticed—all of these things being sorted in his brain within the first half-second after opening his eyes—was the image of his partner in his favourite carapace, staring down at him, holding the tip of a blade to his chest-mouth. He was conflicted; on one hand, he knew without a doubt that Sasori wanted so much to turn him into one of his macabre creations and it was everything Deidara would kill himself—kill Sasori—to avoid. He wanted no part of Sasori's delusions of forever, and yet— —there was an awful intentness with which the redhead looked at Deidara's torso that made his mouth dry. Sasori was within Hiruko's protective shell, but Deidara could almost see the curious, fascinated stare even through the outer puppet's glassy eyes. It was a beautiful thought. He wished he could lick his lips, but that task was impossible to him now. He'd always liked the way Sasori regarded his victims, and to be the focus of that stare almost made up for the fact that, this time, he _was_ the victim. Almost. Deidara glared at the man staring at the mouth on his chest, his eyes nearly vibrating with anger. 


	3. Chapter 3

The slight change in both breathing and chakra patterns was enough to tell Sasori that Deidara was awake, but not enough to stop him from making the first incision. Blood bubbled where he first punctured the skin and continued as he made a straight cut. There was more blood than usual, but not much, and Sasori made note of it. The cause was probably due to the chest mouth and the difference would help him understand his partner's body.

He didn't bother to look up to meet Deidara's gaze, though he knew his partner would be angry. He could practically hear the blond ranting and raving about how Sasori needed to stop because puppets weren't art. The very thought made Sasori want to scoff, but there was no reason to get into this argument when the other couldn't even answer. Besides, allowing his attention to stray might mean that something vital could be missed or damaged. He was nothing if not precise.

If Sasori could sigh, then he would. This situation was becoming very tiresome. He was not in the mood to deal with his partner jumping around and throwing around those clay bombs the moment he woke up. Just thinking about all of that anger and those idiotic displays was filling Sasori with an annoying sensation that he didn't care to place.

"Don't bother wasting your energy with that glare; I'm not turning you into a puppet. There wouldn't have been a numbing agent in that paralytic if I were. I'm trying to figure out how these annoying mouths of yours work." Sasori's answer was both disinterested and annoyed, as if there was nothing wrong with what he was doing. No, poisoning and dissecting somebody in their sleep was completely normal.

As an afterthought, he added, "It's a weak poison. You don't have to worry about any adverse side effects. Your joints might be a bit stiff later, but that's all."


	4. Chapter 4

More calm now that he was assured Sasori wasn't going to start mummifying him, Deidara then wondered why exactly it was necessary for his partner to figure out his extra mouths. Knowing Sasori, he was probably planning to turn Deidara into a puppet in his sleep after he was satisfied with his…research. The redhead had already pulled off _this_ stunt, after all. While debating this, he realised he was being cut into further. Deidara hoped Sasori didn't screw up that mouth permanently. Having a person prod that mouth in particular was making him particularly nervous; he'd been told from childhood that it was a dangerous area because his chest-mouth was directly connected to his heart. Essentially, Sasori was poking at a sensitive bomb. Actually, that…was kind of amazing. The last vestiges of anger in his stare disappeared. And then he remembered that he did trust the other man, even if he'd never say it. He was the _only_ person Deidara trusted. Deidara could only hope that he hadn't become immune enough to the paralytic concoction that the numbing would wear off; he was not Hidan and would not enjoy the pain. At all. Secretly, he loved the expression on Sasori's face when he was concentrating on his work and the blond wished he could see it now. The puppeteer's usual face was next to blank—the one Deidara associated with Sasori working on his art, however, was the closest thing to peaceful that Deidara had ever seen on him. Fuck, he wished Sasori would get out of that shell. He laid there, staring up at Hiruko's eyes through long, blond lashes, occasionally blinking. 


	5. Chapter 5

Honestly, he should have stayed quiet. There wasn't a single logical reason for Sasori to speak. He had already explained to his partner what was going on so he didn't have to worry about as much of a backlash in the morning. As a puppet, he was incapable of feeling the same emotions as he used to, of feeling bored or annoyed at this situation. It had been so long since he had finally been able to enjoy some peace and quiet while working and he should have been relishing in the quiet. But now that he was here, Sasori found that he didn't want to stop talking. Having Deidara both awake and paralyzed meant that he finally had an audience who would get to experience and appreciate his work as it happened. He'd never been able to do this before …

"I'm an artist and my work focuses on puppets. In order to create art, an artist must have an understanding of their subjects. _You _know all about different types of clays and explosives. _I _know all about the human body and and its different functions. Like any artist, I strive for perfection. I _hate_ not understanding how something works- how your body works. It's frustrating to say the least."

Hiruko moved closer as he peered down at Deidara's chest. The initial cut was complete and with a few pins Sasori was able to keep the skin out of the way so that he could get a better look at what he was doing. The ribs were an annoyance because they got in the way of his sight, but Sasori could easily work around them without breaking any bones. Inside Hiruko's shell, he frowned, placing the scalpel down and trailing Hiruko's fingers down an odd bump in one of Deidara's muscles.

"I'm supposed to understand completely how the body functions and the life source behind it. That's how I'm able to create such beautiful puppets and how I was able to transfer my heart into a puppet's body. But _you-" _Hiruko nearly hissed, though Sasori felt only the faintest echoes of annoyance, "_you _are such an annoying creature. I can't understand how your body works with these mouths of yours. I wouldn't be the artist I am today if I would stand by and not indulge my curiosity."

He waited before making Hiruko reach for the scalpel again. Now that he had a better look at his partner, it would be best to be careful lest he risk any damage to his mouth. Hiruko's hand flattened onto Deidara's chest and he carefully attached chakra strings to his partner's chest. Puppets weren't capable of sight, so these strings were his only way to see, but they were much more effective than Sasori's human eyes had been. Carefully, he allowed his chakra to sink into Deidara's chest, avoiding the large mouth and heart. He stopped once again as he sensed a passage connecting to the large mouth and he attached another string to that area so that he could better examine it.


	6. Chapter 6

If he were able to laugh, he would have. All that time he'd spent trying to annoy his partner and the greatest annoyances of all were the montrosities on his hands and chest. Deidara wished he could feel the way Hiruko was prodding at him; he imagined the touch was imbued with both Sasori's frustration and interest.

Deidara had seen, once or twice, the process Sasori went through when the latter was creating one of his infamous human puppets. Although he could not agree with it as art, he did have to admit it was one of the most beautiful things he'd ever seen. It was morbidly fascinating and Deidara had an endless curiosity for that kind of thing.

Even as the subject, he couldn't help but find it interesting. Deidara could not see much beyond a blade here and a pin there, but he was being _dissected_ by the only person whom he knew could pull it off, and—

It was kind of really attractive?

Sasori, in his puppet, carefully undoing the flesh and muscle on Deidara's chest. Sasori, looking at his inner workings like he was some fascinating specimen. Deidara had never before been the subject of such a gaze. And then the fact that it was Sasori who looked at him…Sasori—his danna—who understood his frustration with humanity, his passion for art, and his need to be understood completely by at least one person.

He was thankful he wasn't able to voice his thoughts by accident. Despite being sure that Sasori wasn't looking at him, Deidara averted his eyes for a moment, embarrassed—and then blinked twice in suprise when a bit of his cheek was able to move. Huh, he was becoming more immune than both of them had thought. At the very least it was an advantage if any of his enemies happened to use a similar poison.


	7. Chapter 7

Carefully Sasori detached the few strings he'd kept near the outside of the chest mouth and moved them closer to the passage he'd found. Focusing more of his chakra in a single area would give him a clearer picture of just what he was dealing with and would hopefully move this operation along faster. It was important that he find out as much information as possible tonight. The likelihood of him having another chance to closely examine his partner like this was slim. After waking up to find themselves being cut open, no ninja would be able to sleep with their guard down.

Sasori's eyes widened slightly as he focused more on the passage way. It almost felt like an esophagus, if the esophagus were attached to a giant chest mouth instead of a regular one. The resemblance ended pretty quickly. As far as he could tell, the passage didn't lead to Deidara's stomach and Sasori found himself hesitant to probe any further. The furthest he could detect from where his strings were placed was that the passage tapered off after a only a few inches- right before hitting a rather large chakra source. "Brat, when you can move your face again I want you to answer my questions. If you don't I won't be so nice about the numbing agents I add to the poisons I use around you."

He was nothing if not an artist and would stand by the statement he had made before. Knowing as much as he possibly could about the human body and its functions were his goal and he refused to create a puppet that would be flawed because he knew too little about the human body. Sasori also wanted to live past tonight. If living past tonight meant that he had to put off finishing his experiment then so be it.

One by one Sasori detached his chakra strings from Deidara's chest and carefully removed the pins holding his skin in place. Sasori was no fool. He knew very well that his partner specialized in bombs and a chakra source that large was more likely to explode than it was to sit by peacefully for an eternity. Sasori paused and frowned down at the large mouth at Deidara's chest that now seemed to be mocking him. He had gained some knowledge about how they worked but it was no where near the amount needed to begin his designs.

"You're such an annoying brat," he said before Hiruko's hand trailed down Deidara's chest. As he did so, Sasori pushed his chakra strings through Deidara's skin in order to sew him up.


	8. Chapter 8

Once, Hidan had asked quite colourfully if Sasori ever spoke more than a few words at a time. To Deidara, it seemed obvious that the answer was a dry 'yes', but Hidan had never seen Sasori perform surgery before.

He used the term _surgery_ lightly.

There was probably something wrong with his priorities if the way his partner was skillfully stitching together skin made him think about Sasori's speech habits.

They were mildly relevant, anyway; at this point Sasori was baiting him more than anything, probably vaguely concerned about Deidara being able to set himself off with chakra alone but aware that Deidara's vocal cords were far from functional under the paralytic. Oh, how Sasori loved to talk when he couldn't be talked back at.

The blond poured all of his unamusement into the blank stare he was unwillingly giving his partner. He would get Sasori back for the brat comment—and the impromptu dissection—at least ten times over.


End file.
